Greenhouse+Gases

= Greenhouse Gases = **Brianna Formicola** - [|Greenhouse gases] are chemical compounds in the atmosphere that trap heat and light from the sun. They retain a proportion of the sun's heat through a mechanism known as the greenhouse effect.
 * What are Greenhouse Gases??**

- The greenhouse effect is based on the fact that the Earth's atmosphere acts like the glass of a greenhouse. Like the glass of a greenhouse the atmosphere lets in heat produced by the sun, allowing it to heat the Earth. Once the Earth is warmed heat rises from its surface, that heat is supposed to recycle out of the atmosphere, but some of it cannot pass through the greenhouse gases that make up the atmosphere. Therefore the heat that does not exit remains in the Earth's atmosphere, adding to its temperature.
 * What is the Greenhouse Effect??**

- Ultraviolet rays(invisible) that enter the earths atmosphere are produced by the sun. Those ultraviolet rays turn into Infrared Rays(visible) and when a gas is able to absorb radiation it is considered a greenhouse gas. To be able to absorb the IR radiation(heat) a gas molecule has to have a change in dipole movement. To further learn more about what makes a compound a greenhouse gas[| click here].
 * [|What Makes a Compound a Greenhouse Gas??]**



- __Carbon Dioxide__:
 * What are Some Types of Greenhouse Gases??**
 * Being the most common greenhouse gas Carbon Dioxide(CO2) is colorless, odorless, and non-flammable. CO2 is naturally emitted by the Carbon Cycle which includes photosynthesis in plants, human respiration, and the releasing of carbon dioxide at the seas surface. But since the time of industrialization the burning of oil, coal and gas, and deforestation, have increased CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere, in fact i ts overwhelming presence in the atmosphere is due largely to the fact that we are an overall industrialized planet.

- __Methane__:
 * Methane(CH4) is odorless, colorless, flammable and is a greenhouse gas that remains in the atmosphere for up to 15 years . CH4 is naturally emitted when organic matter and animal/human excretion decays. Releasing a significant amount of CH4 into the atmosphere are activities such as fossil fuel production, rice cultivation, biomass burning, and waste management.

- __Nitrous Oxide__:
 * Natural sources of Nitrous Oxide N2O are dominated by temperate and tropical soils, with the world's oceans also being an important contributor. It is also produced by human activities such as agricultural soil management, animal manure management, sewage treatment, mobile and stationary combustion of fossil fuel, adipic acid production, and nitric acid production. It is also commonly used as an anesthetic, which it is then known as "laughing gas".



- [|Global warming] is when the earth heats up because of greenhouse gases that trap heat and light from the sun in the Earth's atmosphere, which increases the temperature.
 * What is Global Warming??**

- Global warming is caused by greenhouse gases that trap heat and light in the Earth's atmosphere from the sun, which increases the Earth's temperature. With the rise in temperature being a direct cause of greenhouse gases it is therefore directly harming the Earth and the living organisms within it.
 * How are Greenhouse Gases Causing Global Warming??**
 * **What Exactly are the [|Effects]??**
 *  Rises in sea level --> as much as three feet across the globe, causing flooding of lands where people and organisms live.
 * Flooding will cause damage to plants in the flood areas knocking out a source of food for many animals.
 *  Reductions in rainfall across vast areas --> negatively affecting crops.
 *  The melting of many glaciers and a rise in snow elevations --> affecting water supplies across the globe.
 *  Storms including hurricanes of increasing intensity and frequency. --> natural disasters
 *  Extinction of animal and plant species due to change in their habitats --> not able to adapt to certain conditions.
 * Food shortages due to limited and damaged sources. -- Forced to migrate into unknown territory--> out in the open for predators.

- [|The Greenhouse Effect] - [|Greenhouse Gases] - [|Global Warming]
 * Additional Resources:**